Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 45: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position in regard to the operation of the Register of Sex Offenders; if the information is contained in a central database; the categories of persons who have access to the information; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22117/06]

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 75: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will carry out a review of the register of sex offenders in order to bring it in line with the register maintained in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22202/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 45 and 75 together.

The Sex Offenders Act, 2001 which commenced on 27 September 2001 sets out the obligations on persons convicted of a range of sexual offences. A convicted sex offender must notify his/her name(s), date of birth and current home address to the Garda Síochána within seven days of the conviction for the sexual offence concerned or, where the offender is sentenced to imprisonment, from the date of full release from prison.

Thereafter, the offender must notify the Gardaí of any change of name or address within seven days of that change. Notification of any address where the offender spends either as much as seven days or two or more periods amounting to seven days in any twelve month period must also be given to the Gardaí.

If the offender intends to leave the State for a period of seven days or more s/he must inform the Gardaí of this fact and the address at which s/he intends to stay and also notify the Gardaí of his/her return. If s/he did not intend to stay away for more than seven days but did, s/he must inform the Gardaí within a further seven days. The provisions of the Act extend to any sex offenders entering this jurisdiction from abroad who have an obligation to register in their own countries.

It is an offence to fail to comply with the notification requirements. The penalty is imprisonment for up to 12 months or a fine of €1,900 or both. The courts can also sentence an offender who has been found guilty of an offence under the schedule of offences in the Act to a period of statutory supervision under the Probation and Welfare Service on their release from prison.

The Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit of An Garda Síochána monitor and manage the notification provisions. There are nominated Garda Inspectors in each Garda Division who are notified by the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit when a sex offender, who is subject to the requirements of the Sex Offenders Act, 2001, becomes resident in their Division.

Close liaison is maintained between An Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland in respect of persons subject to the Act, and information on the movements of such persons is exchanged for policing purposes. A Memorandum of Understanding on information sharing arrangements between Ireland and the UK, including Northern Ireland, relating to sex offenders has been negotiated by my Department and the Home Office. I have recently received Government approval for its signature and I expect this to take place shortly.

The InterGovernmental Agreement on North/South Co-operation on Criminal Justice Matters was signed on behalf of the Irish and British Governments in July 2005. Under the agreement, a Registered Sex Offender Advisory Group has been established consisting of representatives of An Garda Síochána, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, my Department and the Northern Ireland Office. This group is evaluating the potential for sharing information, examining the registration criteria in both jurisdictions and identifying areas for further co-operation. There are currently 916 persons subject to the Act's requirements. The Act and its operation are kept under constant review.